-Composer-
-Singer-
-Conductor-
Born in Iceland
Based in London
Last weekend, 12th-14th of April I went on a trip with my lovely choir to Lund, Sweden where 9 Icelandic choirs from around Europe gathered for their bi-annual festival. Long story short, the concert was extraordinary beautiful and fun, followed by a grand dinner and party.
Here you can see the gathered forces of the 9 choirs, which I was so lucky to get the chance to conduct. Great experience and fun for me as a young conductor.
Tonight I found a somewhat concurrent / like-minded friend in Debussy when reading his views on the opera form:
Stephen Upshaw, violist, performed "Bráð: Glacier´s Requiem for solo Viola" a new short piece by me at the Parasol Unit gallery in London yesterday evening. I could not be at the event myself but the from what I hear it was a pleasant evening and Stephens playing was at a very high standard. There was a recording made which I hope I´ll be able to hear soon.
So it´s been a while. Moving to my new place in Tooting, London has taken it´s toll but has been totally worth it, and more. Living with beautiful people, in a beautiful place. Now, back to work.
Yesterday I signed up on Issuu, publication service, and am trying out the embed option. Below you should be able to flip through my latest publication Skuggablóm - sönglagahefti (Shadowflowers - songbook), which I finished last summer. My goal is to begin the hard-copy distribution in Iceland next week.
The harp´s distinctive appearance, it´s size and it´s place in music history, are assets which should be utilised when creating a stage piece like Your breath in my ear. All those aspects help to create a memorable theater experience before the performance even starts. As soon as audience members enter the hall and see the instrument on stage they get curious and the mood of the piece starts to infiltrate their minds, affecting each audience member differently. Once the actual performance does start then the harp´s soundworld blends perfectly with the world of dance, giving it a light and floating sensation.
Writing for harp could be compared to solving a puzzle like sudoku. You know where to start, and you know where you want to end, but in order to reach your destination you have to make many different parameters align. That can be a fun challenge and even though it´s often a journey of compromises to one´s music, the final outcome is always a plesant one in my experience.
Icelandic composer, singer, conductor. Based in London, UK.
Short bio
Helgi Ingvarsson graduated with distinction from his Mmus course in music composition at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, in 2012 and is currently a composition fellow at the school, tutored by Matthew King. Helgi has a BA from Iceland Academy of the Arts, mentored by Kjartan Ólafsson, and participated in an exchange programme at the Malmö Academy of Music, Sweden, studying with Rolf Martinsson. Other composition tutors include Detlev Glanert, at Dartington International summer school, England. Helgi studied conducting with Sian Edwards in 2011-2012.
Helgi has collaborated with groups and ensembles like Chroma Ensemble, Elektra Ensemble, Composers ensemble, NewDots, the Ligeti Quartet and the Bartholdy Quartet to name a few and works performed at venues like Harpa, Reykjavík at the DarkMusicDays festival in Iceland; Wigmore Hall, London; The Place theater, London; The forge, Camden; Linköping, Sweden and Salurinn, Kópavogur, Iceland.
Also taught piano and "interplay/playing in a band".
Also taught history and aural.
Current commissions: Bráð, musical theater piece, for ensemble, vocalists and tape. Due to be premiered at Central Saint Martins design school, London, May 29th 2013. Evariste, chamber opera. Libretto by Lori Ann Stephens, ENO-Mini-Operas finalist of 2012. Due to be premiered at the Courtauld Gallery, London late 2013/early 2014.
15.03.13 Bráð: A Glacier´s Requiem for ensemble. Premiered at BBC´s Maida Vale studios, London by members from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and postgrad students of the Guildhall school. A solo viola arrangement was commissioned by violist Stephen Upshaw for his “Spring Song Cycle” and premiered at the Parasol-Unit gallery, London, March 26th, 2013.
07.12.12 Your breath in my ear dance piece. Prepared guitar, harp and cello. Premiered at The Place, dance theater, London. Choreographer: Esther Siddique.
01.08.12 Skuggablóm: Sönglagahefti (Shadowflowers: Song book). 5 revised songs from the 2007 chamber opera. Published with a grant from STEF, The Performing Rights Society of Iceland.
August, 2012 The Distance Between Us for flute, Bb/bass clarinet, violin, cello, marimba and vibraphone. Premiered at Dartington International Summer School by the Composer´s Ensemble (http://www.loganartsmanagement.com/ensembles/the-composers-ensemble).
05.07.12 Penelopeia for flute, Bb/bass clarinet, violin, cello and bowed/prepared piano. Premiered at Guildhall school by Chroma Ensemble (www.chromaensemble.co.uk).
01.06.12 Pan-dora: The uncooperative machine. For solo bassoon and interactive electronics. Premiered at Guildhall school by Ruth Hardwick. A review was published in “Double Reed News”, autumn issue 2012 no.100, p.23.
25.05.12 Ground: A dialogue study for Soprano, tenor and 2 trombones. Premiered at Wigmore Hall, London. Later revised and arranged for Soprano, tenor and 2 clarinets for a second Wigmore Hall performance in October 2012.
29.03.12 Combined Presence music for dance. Recorders, violin and electronics. Premiered at The Place, dance theater, London. Choreographer: Andrew Bennett.
24.02.12 Become, a duet for viola and piano. Premiered by Jonathan Larson and Jason Anderson at Guildhall school, London. Second performance at the Forge, Camden, London November 20th, 2012. An event organised by NewDots (www.newdots.org.uk).
28.01.12 Become, a quintet (a.k.a. Hálfgerðir Hringir) for flute, clarinet, piano, violin and cello. Premiered at MyrkirMúsíkdagar (MurkMusicdays festival) in Harpa, concert hall, Iceland, by Elektra Ensemble (www.elektraensemble.com).
30.11.11 Burned Alive for 2 pianos. Based on the eponymous book by Souad.
30.09.11 One Week for solo piano, premiered by Mishka Momen at Guildhall school.
21.03.10 Formið Flýgur (Goodbye form) electro-acoustic dance piece performed by the Iceland Dance Company (www.id.is/english).
28.04.09 Sálir Bera Engin Nöfn (Souls don´t have names) 47 min. long music film. Premiered at Salurinn, Kópavogur, Iceland.
28.04.09 Ég hverf brátt til skýja (Soon I´ll disappear into the sky) for 2 choirs. Premiered at Salurinn, Kópavogur, Iceland.
24.10.07 Skuggablóm: óperuþykkni (Shadowflowers: an Opera-Concentrate) One act chamber opera for string quartet and piano performed by The Reykjavik Academy of Singing and Vocal Arts (www.songskolinn.is) and string players from Hafnarfjörður music school at Salurinn, Kópavogur, Iceland in October 2007 with a grant from Kópavogur-town, Iceland.
May, 2007 Síðueldar for mixed choir. The text is based on mythical events in the Skaftáreldar-eruption in Iceland, 1783, which was the single greatest (recorded) lava flow on the planet for the last millennium.
Spring, 2006 Íslenski fjölskyldusirkusinn (The Icelandic Family Circus) Music for a theater production. Ensamble: Flute, Bb clarinet, soprano and alto saxophone, tuba, girls choir, drum kit, violin, cello and electronics. Awarded for best music of the year in an amateur show. Award given by critics at the oldest newspaper in Iceland, Morgunblaðið (“The morning paper”: www.mbl.is).
Helgi Rafn Ingvarsson (1985) spilaði á Bariton horn í Skólahljómsveit Kópavogs undir stjórn Össurar Geirssonar ´94-´01 og gekk svo til liðs við Kór Menntaskólans við Hamrahlíð ´01-´03 sem bassi hjá Þorgerði Ingólfsdóttur. Samhliða því lagði Helgi stund á söngnám við Söngskólan í Reykjavík hjá Margréti Bóasdóttur og kláraði miðstig vorið ´06.
Haustið ´06 hóf hann nám í tónsmíðum til BA gráðu hjá Listaháskóla Íslands. Meðal annarra voru kennarar hans þar Kjartan Ólafsson, Tryggvi M. Baldvinsson, Hróðmar Ingi Sigurbjörnsson og Árni Heimir Ingólfsson. Á öðru ári sínu við LHÍ fékk Helgi sumarstarfsstyrk frá Kópavogsbæ til að skrifa óperu í samstarfi við handritshöfundinn Árna Kristjánsson, Garðar Cortes og óperudeild Söngskólans í Reykjavík. Ópera sú hlaut nafnið Skuggablóm
og var frumflutt í Salnum, Kópavogi, október ´07.
Haustið ´08 komst Helgi að sem skiptinemi í Tónlistarháskólanum í Malmö, Svíþjóð,
og lærði þar hjá Rolf Martinsson. Helgi útskrifaðist ´09 með BA í sígildum tónsmíðum.
Árin ´09 til ´11 kenndi Helgi tónfræði, tónheyrn, tónlistarsögu, píanó fyrir byrjendur og samspil við Listaskóla Mosfellsbæjar og Tónsali í Kópavogi. Samhliða vinnu sinni nam Helgi Jass útsetningar 1 við Tónlistarskóla FÍH hjá Óskari Einarssyni.
Á tímabilinu ´09 - ´11 var tónlist Helga flutt við ýmis tilefni og má þar t.d. nefna: Fjöllistasýningin Orbis Terræ-Ora á Listahátíð Reykavíkur ´09, Hnykill, Leikhúsdekur á Norðurpólnum 2009, báðar undir leikstjórn Margrétar Vilhjálmsdóttur, og Formið flýgur, samstarfsverkefni Íslenska Dansflokksins, Helga og Fatahönnunarfélags Íslands í tilefni af HönnunarMars 2010, flutt í Hafnarhúsinu.
Í desember ´10 komst Helgi inn í Mastersnám í Guildhall, School of Music and Drama og hóf þar nám haustið ´11. Kennari hans þar er Matthew King, en einnig sækir Helgi reglulega tíma til Julian Anderssons og Julian Phillips. Helgi útskrifaðist með Mmus í tónsmíðum þann 2.nóvember. Um þessar mundir er Helgi “fellow” í tónsmíðadeild Guildhall þar sem vinnur að hinum ýmsu tónsmíðaverkefnum í samstarfi við meistara- og doktorssvið skólans.
2012 hlaut Helgi styrk til að sækja tónsmíðnámskeið í ágúst sama ár fyrir lengra komna í Dartington International Summer School, Englandi þar sem þýska óperutónskáldið Detlev Glanert kenndi. Styrkur sá var veittur af The Michael Tippett Musical Foundation. Þar starfaði Helgi náið með Ben Gernon, upprennandi hljómsveitarstjóra, og The Composers Ensemble.
Af þeim tónsmíðum og verkefnum sem Helgi hefur skrifað og tekið þátt í undanfarin 2 ár ber helst að nefna Become fyrir víólu og píanó sem einnig heyrðist í Kaldalóni, Hörpu á Myrkum Músíkdögum í janúar 2012, þá útsett fyrir kvintett, flutt af Elektra Ensemble. Tónlist Helga hefur verið flutt í tvígang í Wigmore Hall, London, einum virtasta kammertónleikasal í Evrópu
og The Place-dance theatre í samstarfi við unga danshöfunda í London.
Lokaverkefni Helga í Meistaranámi sínu var kvintettinn Penelopeia, skrifaður fyrir Chroma Ensemble og var það verk frumflutt 5.júlí 2012 í Guildhall school, London.
Í Janúar 2013 völdu meðlimir BBCSO (British Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra) 3 tónsmíðanema frá Guildhall school til að skrifa fyrir oktett, samansettan af meðlimum BBCSO og framhaldsnemum frá Guildhall School undir stjórn Richard Baker og var Helgi þar á meðal. Verkin þrjú voru tekin upp 15.mars og útvarpað á BBC.
Um þessar mundir vinnur Helgi að nýrri óperu sem verður framleidd af Guildhall, School of Music and Drama og sett á svið í The Courtauld Gallery, Summerset House, London á næsta ári. Handritið skrifaði Lori Ann-Stephens en hún fagnaði sigri í ENO mini-operas á síðasta ári (English National Opera) með handriti sínu The Sweeper of Dreams.
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FERILL (stuttur)
Helgi Rafn Ingvarsson (1985) spilaði á Bariton horn í Skólahljómsveit Kópavogs undir stjórn Össurar Geirssonar ´94-´01 og gekk svo til liðs við Kór Menntaskólans við Hamrahlíð ´01-´03 sem bassi hjá Þorgerði Ingólfsdóttur. Samhliða því lagði Helgi stund á söngnám við Söngskólan í Reykjavík hjá Margréti Bóasdóttur og kláraði miðstig vorið ´06. Á tímabilinu ´06-´09 nam hann tónsmíðar til BA gráðu við Listaháskóla Íslands.
Helgi útskrifaðist með Mmus í tónsmíðum þann 2.nóvember frá Guildhall, School of Music and Drama í London. Kennari hans þar er Matthew King, en einnig sækir Helgi reglulega tíma til Julian Anderssons og Julian Phillips. Aðrir fyrrum tónsmíðakennarar Helga eru Kjartan Ólafsson, Hróðmar I. Sigurbjörnsson, Rolf Martinsson (SWE) og Detlev Glanert (GER). Um þessar mundir er Helgi „fellow“ í tónsmíðadeild Guildhall þar sem hann vinnur að hinum ýmsu tónsmíðaverkefnum í samstarfi við meistara- og doktorssvið skólans. Meðal hópa sem Helgi hefur unnið með má nefna meðlimi BBCSO, Chroma Ensemble, Elektra Ensemble og tónlist Helga hefur verið flutt í Wigmore Hall, BBC´s Maida Vale studios; á tónleikahátíðunum Myrkir Músíkdagar, NewDots og London City Music Festival, svo dæmi séu tekin.